Brustenga Scores Maiden Pro Win at Adélie de Vitré After Gautherat Relegated for Sprint Deviation
Spanish climber-turned-fast finisher Marc Brustenga has taken his first ever professional victory at the Classic Velox Adélie de Vitré, handed the win after Pierre Gautherat of Decathlon-CMA CGM crossed the line first but was subsequently relegated by the UCI commissaires for a dangerous sprint deviation in the final 150 metres. It is a landmark result for the 26-year-old from Santa Eulàlia de Ronçana and for Pro Continental outfit Equipo Kern Pharma, who now lead the early-season UCI Europe Tour points table.
The 174.2km race, held around the Breton town of Vitré on a cool, breezy Friday, came down to a reduced bunch of around forty riders after a late-race crash split the peloton with 18 kilometres remaining. The decisive acceleration came from the French home crowd's favourite Gautherat, who opened his sprint from 250 metres and initially appeared to have comfortably beaten Brustenga and Lotto's Louis Hardouin in a three-up gallop to the line.
Replays told a different story. In the final 120 metres Gautherat drifted sharply to his left, forcing Brustenga into the barrier tape and shutting the door on Hardouin on the other side. Both riders were visibly unsettled but recovered enough to sprint home second and third. The commissaires' panel reviewed the footage within minutes of the finish and took less than half an hour to announce Gautherat's relegation to the back of the group, promoting Brustenga to the top step and Hardouin to second.
"I couldn't believe it when the team car told me I had actually won," Brustenga said in the post-race flash interview. "I thought I had finished second to a strong Frenchman, and obviously I was a bit angry about the way the sprint went, but I never expected the jury to be so quick and so decisive. To take my first win like this is strange, but I'll take it. You race to win, and in the end I crossed the line on the right side of the rules."
The victory is a significant boost to Kern Pharma's 2026 campaign, continuing a strong early season for the Spanish squad that has included top-ten finishes at the Volta a Catalunya and a breakout ride by teenage climber Pablo Castrillo at Paris-Nice. Team manager Juanjo Oroz said the win validated the programme of sending his Pro Conti squad to hard one-day races across Europe despite the shallow startlist on paper.
Gautherat, a former French under-23 champion, cut a furious figure in the Decathlon-CMA CGM team bus after the decision was confirmed. His team initially indicated they would appeal, before accepting the verdict an hour later. Decathlon-CMA CGM will now turn their attention to the Tour of the Alps and the opening weekend of the Ardennes classics, where Gautherat is expected to ride in support of Paul Seixas.
For the Continental-level teams on the UCI points fight, the Adélie de Vitré delivered a crucial swing. Kern Pharma banked 128 points, Caja Rural-Seguros RGA added 91, while Italian squad Polti picked up sixty. The Unibet Rose Rockets, fresh from their historic Ronde van Brugge win, continued their remarkable early-season points haul with a top-five finish. Novo Nordisk also scored their first UCI points of the season — a small but symbolic moment for the all-diabetic squad.
Brustenga will now head home to rest before joining Kern Pharma's squad for next week's Itzulia Basque Country, where the Catalan will ride in support of team leader Urko Berrade. A stage win in the Basque hills would cap a remarkable turnaround for a rider who, only eighteen months ago, was considering retirement after a cruel run of illness.